Rock-drill



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. M. .GITHENS.

(No Model.)

ROCK DRILL.

Patented Aug. 11, 1891.

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e. 11. GITH'ENS.

2 Sheets-Sheet; 2.

BOOK DRILL.

No. 457,343. Patente d Aug. 11,1891.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. GITHENS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ROCK- DRILL.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 457,348, dated August11, 1891.

' Application filed March 13,1891. Serial No. 384,860. (No model.)

To to whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. GITHENS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented an Improvement in Rock- Drills, of which thefollowing is aspecification. 7

Rock-drills that are actuated by steam or compressed air are subject tostrain and-rapid concussion that tend to loosen the respective parts,and unless such looseness can be compensated from time to time there isahammering action that rapidly destroys such parts.

The object of the present invention is to provide for easily tighteningthe respective parts, separating the parts in case of wear or injury,and for rapidly repairing such parts, and for preventing concussion inthe valve or any of the parts of the machine, and for placing the entireapparatus under the control of the attendant, and adapting the apparatusto the various circumstances of use.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the cylinder andparts connected therewith. Fig. 2 is .a cross-section at the line m 00.Fig. 3 is a detached view of the piston-rod gland. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section at z z of the steam-ports, and Fig. 5 is across-section at the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a plan View of themachine without the feed-screw andconnected parts. Fig. 7 is alongitudinal section at the line z z of Fig. 1, the feed-screw and itsnut being removed. Fig. 8 1s a detached view of the cylinderhead. Fig. 9shows the annular ratchet and head of the rotator. Fig. 10 representsthe back of the opposite ratchet-disk. Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are on alarger scale than the other figures.

The stock or bed A is provided witha conical base A, to which isconnected any suitable clamping device for the legs, tripod, or othersupport usual in rock-drills, and upon this bed A are flanges 2, uponwhich rest the flanges 3 of the cylinder B. This cylinder is movableendwise, upon the stock or bed by a screw hereinafter described, asusual in rockdrills, and I find it very important to'prevent loosenessof the flanges 3 in their connection to the bed A. Heretofore theseflanges 3 have been held by the guide-bars O, bolted to the flanges 2;but such bolts have passed perpendicularly through the flanges 2. Thewear, however, comes almost entirely upon the outer edges of the flanges3, and it is necessary to be able to set up the guide-bars O withoutclamping the flanges 3 rigidly, because such flanges 3 must be free tomove between .the bars 0 and the flanges 2. To provide for. thesedifliculties I make use of diagonally-placed. bolts O, the holes forwhich are slightly larger than the bolts, and these bolts pass throughthe guide-bars O and through the flanges 2, and they are placed in thepositions shown in Fig. 2. Hence in screwing up the nuts ofthe diagonalbolts the guide-bars C are pressed to-. ward the outer edges of theflanges 3, audit the flanges 3 become worn, so as to move looselybetween the guide -bars O and the flanges 2, it is only necessary tofile away the edges 4 upon the-flanges 2 sufficiently to allow theguide-bars lobe set up closely against the outer edges of the flanges3,.thereby compensating for wear and at the same-time preventing theflanges 3 being clamped in such a manner as to interfere with their freeend movement under the action of the screw D. The screw D passes throughthe nut D within a projection upon the cylinder B. This nut and screwmay be of any desired charactersuch, for instance, as that shown in mypatent, No. 362,617, granted May 10, 1887. The screw D-"passes throughthe cross-head E, which is sustained by the rods F, as usual in rock-drilling machines. I however have found that these rods are liable tobecome bent or broken, and they frequently need to be'removed andstraightened and sometimes mended.

One feature of my present invention relates to the manner in which theserodsfare fitted in place to facilitate straightening. It is preferableto make the portions of these rods F that extend beyond the stock A oflarger diameter than the portions that pass between the lugs F and thelugs F on said stock-'A,aiid the holes in the lugs F aresufficiently"large for the rods F to pass through thein,'tbu t. fit

tightly, and the ends of the rods F thatpfass through the lugs F aresorew-thread'ed' for some distance, so that such rods F maybe screwedthrough said lugs to any desired point and receive upon their ends thelock nuts 5, so that by this means the tapering Without requiring theusual accuracyin meas urements, because the rods can be screwed throughthe lugs F more or less.

In rock-drilling machines it is usual to ro-' tate the feed-screwD bymeans of a crank G, and there is a collar 8 upon this feed-screw whichsets against one side of the cross-head E, and in order to separate theparts for repairs this crank G must be removable from the screw.- A-convenient way for removing this crank is to unscrew the same from thescrew-threaded end of the feed-screw D; but to prevent such crank fromturning on this screw or becoming loose has been a serious difliculty,and the devices that have been employed for tightening the crank uponthis screw have been liable to be misplaced or lost. I make use of a key9, introduced through a mortise in the hub of the crank, and the mortiseis not cut parallel with the face of the crank I, but it is cut at aninclination corresponding to the angle of the screw-thread at the end ofthe feed-screw, and the key 9 is grooved upon its face that is next tothe screw, the grooves corresponding in size and pitch to thescrew-threads, and the key is 'madewith a head, and the parts areconstructed so that the key can be put through the mortise before thecrank is screwed upon the end of the feed-screw, and when this has beendone the key cannot fall out, but it is capable of a slightmotionendwise in either direction. Hence after the crank has been screwediuponthe end of the feed-screw until thehub of the crank sets closely againstthe cross-head E the crank is firmly affixed, so that it will not turnupon the screw, by simply driving up the key 9, which clamps thecrank-arm to the screw of the feed-screw without inj 11 ring thescrew-thread, and should there be any looseness at the cross-headbetween the collar 8 and the hub of the crank G the key 9 can beloosened by ablow on the end, the crank turned upon the feed-screw totake upthe looseness, and then the key 9 driven endwise into its placeto clamp the parts, and this can be done with facility, and onlyrequires an ordinary hammer, and if the parts have to be separated thiscan be done by simply loosening the key 9. A nut may be provided at thesmall end of the key to draw the same up tightly.

Within the cylinder B is a piston H, with a piston-rod I and atool-holding stock I.

- These parts arepreferably made of one piece of metal, and the stockhas a central cavity or recessfor the tool or drill J, and I make use ofan elastic key K, similar to that shown in my patent, No. 426,640,granted April 29, 1890.

In consequence of the piston, the pistonrod, and the stock being made inone piece, the cylinder-head has to be made in two parts. I haverepresented the cylinder-head L as divided longitudinally and providedwith a central openingfor the piston-rod and with an annular flangepassing into the end of the cylinder, and I make use of the double boltsN for simultaneously securing the cylinder-heads B and L and pressingthe two parts of the cylinder-head L tightly together. These doublebolts N are bent U-shaped at N, and are received into inclined androundended grooves in the surfaces of 'the cylinder-head L, the divisionbetween the two parts of the cylinder-head being at right angles to theplane of each double bolt, so that the U-shaped portions of these doublebolts tend to press the parts of the divided cylinderhead L together.These double bolts are well adapted to resist concussion in cases wherethe piston strikes against the cylinder-head, because there are not anynuts or screws on such bolts near the head L, and such bolts, beingU-shaped, are slightly elastic. The cylinder portion of the dividedcylinder-head L beyond the bolts N is screwthreaded upon its exteriorsurface to receive the gland or cap 0, which also is made in two partsthat are held together by the U-- and the gland or cap 0. The parts areso constructed that this cap 0 will screw upon the head L and compressthe packing l1 properly, and by tightening up the nuts of the U-bolt.0'- the cap 0 will be held firmly in its position. so that itcannot shake loose by the vibrations of the rock-drill, and there issufficient spring or elasticity in the U-shaped bolt 0 to prevent thenuts thereof becoming loose; but whenever the packing 11 needs to be setup it can be easily accomplished by loosening one of the nuts on thebolt 0.

In rock-drills the valve has been moved by a direct action from thepiston, as shown in the patent, No. 362,617, heretofore granted to me.In my present invention the valve is controlled by the joint action ofthe pressure of the steam, air, or actuating-fluid and the movements ofthe piston, and it is rendered very reliable and efficient in itsoperation by the features of construction next described. The piston His reduced in its diameter in the center part thereof, and there areinclines 12 and 13 at the end portions of the reduction, and suchinclines act uponthe valve P, and this valve is in a recess in thecylinder B adjacent to the steam-chest Q, and within the steam-chest isa movable valve the carrier Bis moved up or down.

seat or carrier R, that can move freely toward or from the piston tokeep the under surface of the valve P in contact with the surface of thepiston. To effect this object steam or fluid under pressure is to beadmitted by the pipe S, and there is a smaller hole 14, Fig. 2, to admitthe pressure to act on the outer or upper face of the valve-carrier Rand tend to force the valve-carrier and valve toward the piston, and inthis valve-carrier are ports 15 and 16 for the steam and a port 17 forthe exhaust, and there is an exhaust-pipe at T adjacent to the lateralopening of the exhaust-port 17. The face of the valve P is against thevalve-seat of the carrier R, and this valve P is preferably a double Dslidevalve having ports 18 and 19, and in the steamchest andcommunicating with the pipe S are the ports 20 and 21, which ports openinwardly into the space occupied by the valve and valve-carrier, anditwill be observed that the valve is shorter than the valve-carrier, sothat such valve may receive an end motion in either direction from theinclines 12 and 13. There are ports 22 23 leading from the steam-chestto the respective ends of the cylinder B, and the ports 15 16 are wideenough to be always open to these ports 22 23 when The operation ofthese parts is that as the piston rises and the drill is withdrawn theincline 12 comes against the valve P and moves the same upon thevalve-seat to bring the port 19 in position for steam to pass from theinletport 21 through the ports 19, 16, and 23 to drive the pistonand'drill in the opposite direction at the same time the port 18 opensthe exhaust ting steam from 20 through 18, 15, and 22 to the lower endof the piston to drive the piston in the opposite direction and withdrawthe drill. It will be observed that during these operations the fullpressure of the steam is acting between the steam-chest and the top ofthe carrier R by the steam that passes through the hole 14, and therewill always be a minus pressure upon the opposite side of thevalve-carrier and valve, because one side or the other will be open tothe exhaust or to the less pressure that there is in the cylinder, inconsequence of the rapid movement of the piston in first one directionand then the.

other, and it is usual to apply packing-rings 34 35 around the pistontoward the ends thereof, so that any steam that may be in the .recessaround the piston cannot escape in.

either direction.

In the operation of rock-drills it is well known that where the rock ishard the drill rebounds and the rock-drill can be driven fluid under,pressure is allowed with a rapid movement; but where the rock is softthere is but little rebound and the drill runs with a much slowermovement. It

is of course advantageous to strike the rock that is hard with aheavyblow and the soft rock with a lighter blow.

In rock-drilling machines heretofore made the fluid under pressure isadmitted in such a manner that with a rapid movement there is but alight blow. By the present arrangemoving slowly, the friction of incline13 against the valve moves the latter ra'pidlyto admit the steam forraising the piston and drill and thus lessening the force of the blow;

'but when the piston is moving with rapidity;

the incline 13 does not overcome the inertia of the valve to move thesame with it at as early a portion of the stroke. Thereby the to act fora longertime in giving a full blow by the drill and the valve is shiftedat a later point. in

the stroke of the piston to admit the fluid for a raising the piston.This feature is of impor-,

tance in the efficient operation of the rockdrill.

In rock-drills it'is usual to partially rotate the piston and the drillbetween one blow and the next. Difficulty has heretofore beenexperienced in applying a rotative device that was reliable in itsaction and at the same time allowingthe rotative device to turn underabnormal conditionssuch, for instance, as the end of the drill strikinginto'a seam.. The devices next described effect these objects andovercome these difficulties. The inter mediate cylinder endB is fittedinto the end of the cylinder B between the same and the head Bv and itis held by the double bolts N, as aforesaid, and there is within thiscylinder end B a disk 0, through the center of which and through a holein the cylinder end passes the rotator U, formed as a plug within thepiston H and provided with longitudinal inclined grooves forreceivingsimilar ribs in the nut 19, which is screwed .firI'nly into the interiorofthe piston 7H. Hence when the piston is moving over this rotator itwill be turned by the rotator when such rotator is heldstationary; butwhen the rotator. is allowed to revolve or turn the piston will moveback and forth without being rotated.

Difficult-y has heretofore been experienced in connecting the rotator Uwith the disk or ring 0, because in the rapid movement any key or screwis liable to be broken or become loose. I therefore provide upon the endof the rotator U an eccentric flange q, passing into an eccentric recessin the disk or ring 0. Hence by fitting these parts and driving the.rotator through the ring 0 and forcing the ee- ICC centric flange intoits eccentricrecess the ro-v tator and the ring are firmly connected andwill move together. Upon the face of the ring 0 are ratchet-teeth, andthere is an annular ratchet 'r, the teeth of which fit the teeth in thering 0, and this annular ratchet r hasa polygonal stem 3, passing intothe friction-valveV, that fits loosely into the end portion of theintermediate cylinder B the surface 24 being conical, similar to avalve; but the cylindrical portions of this valve V fit the interior ofthe intermediate cylinder B loosely, and there is a steam-space betweenthe head B and the back face of this valve V, and upon the innerface ofthe head B is a projection which nearly reaches the fiat end of thefriction-valve V, and there is a spring of suitable character, as at 25,that tends to press the annular ratchet-faces together, and there is asteam-port 26, which is an extension of the port'23 within the cylinderend B that admits steam into the space occupied by the ring, ratchets,and frictionvalve V, and it is to be understood that the annularratchets engage each other when the parts are rotated in one directionand they slide over each other by the yielding of the spring 25 when theparts are rotated in the other'direction, and the operation of theseparts is as follows: When steam passes through the port 23 to drive thepiston H and project the drill, it also passes by the port 26 andpresses against the inner face of the friction-valve V, separating theconical surfaces 24 and passing into the recess between thefriction-valve V and the head B, and at this time the friction-valve Vis free to turn. Hence it will be turned by the. piston H, passing alongthe inclined grooves of the rotator U and turning the same, the ring 0,the annular ratchets, and the friction-valve V; but the moment the valveP is changed in its position and the exhaust takes place through theport 23 the steam between the head B and the friction-valve V causes theconical surfaces 24 to come together and produce a sufficient frictionto hold the valve V and the annular ratchets, the ring 0, and therotator U. Hence as the piston H rises, drawing back the drill, itreceives a partial rotation, and as soon as the steamis again admittedby theports 23 and 26 the friction-valve V is relieved of the frictionupon the conical surfaces 24, and it is free to be turned by the rotatoras the drill is again projected, and should the drill strike into aseam, or any abnormal condition arise liable to injure any of the parts,the friction between the conical surfaces 2* will be overcome and thevalve V and rotator can be turned without risk of injury. I provide ahole through the head B and a screw plug or cook 27, by the opening ofwhich the pressure can be relieved between the friction-valve Vand thehead B. Hence this friction-valve V will be free to rotate and therotary movementof the piston and drill will be stopped.

The annular ratchet-teeth are inclined in the direction represented, inorder that the rotator may not revolve the 'piston as the drill isprojected. lhis is of importance. because when the drill is retractedthe cushioning of the air or steam and the admission of fresh fluidunder pressure will exert a force sufficient to raise the friction-valveand pass in between the same and the cylinder-head, and when the pistoncommences to move in the opposite direction to project the drill thepressure may be sufficiently lessened in the cylinder to cause thefriction-valve V to hold upon its seat during this time, and the annular ratchets do not hold the rotator to the friction -valve, but pass byeach other, and upon the return motion the annular ratchets will engageeach other and hold the rotator, and the friction-valve will also befully operative to hold the ratchets.

It will be evident that the yielding annular ratchet is the equivalentof a spring-pawl for holding the adjacent teeth in one direction andpassing over such teeth in the other direction.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the cylinder and thestock or bed in a rock-drilling machine, of the cross-head, thelongitudinal rods, to which the cross-head is attached, suchlongitudinal rods passing through openings at one end of the stock orbed and screwing into lugs at the other end of such stock, and locknutsand the feed-screw passing through the cross-head, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination, with the stock or bed in a rock-drill, of the rodsF, passing through openings at one end of such bed and screwing throughlugs at the other end of such bed and lock-nuts, a cross-head withopenings receiving the conical ends of the rods, and nuts for securingthe cross-head in position, and a feed-screw passing through thecross-head and provided with a crank, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the cross-head and feed-screw having a collaror shoulder in a rock-drill, of a crank screwed upon the end of thefeed-screw, and a cross-key passing through a mortise in the hub of thecrank and acting against the screw-threads, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the feed-screw having a collar or shoulder anda cross-head, through which the feed-screw passes, of a crank screwedupon the end of the feed-screw and having a mortise through the hub atan inclination corresponding to the inclination of the screw-thread, anda key within the mortise having parallel grooves corresponding to thethreads of the screw for tightening the crank upon the screw,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the cylinder, piston, and piston-rod in arock-drill, of a divided head to the cylinder having a central openingfor the piston-rod, and double bolts with U-shapedconnections holdingthe two parts of the cylinder-head together and passing longitudinallyof the cylinder for securing the heads to the same, substantially as setforth.

6. The combination, with the cylinder, piston, piston-rod, and stock ina rock-drill, of a divided head to the cylinder surrounding thepiston-rod, a two-part gland screwing upon the divided head, and aU-bolt for holding the two parts of the divided gland together,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the cylinder, piston, and piston-rod, and stockin a rock-drill, of a divided head surrounding the piston-rod andclosing one end of the cylinder, a twopart gland screwed upon thedivided head, double bolts passing longitudinally of the cylinder andU-shaped for clamping the divided head, and nuts for screwing the headsof the cylinder in position, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the stock or bed in a rock-drill, of a cylinderhaving flanges, guide-bars resting upon said flanges, and diagonal boltsfor securing the guide-bars in position and allowing for theiradjustment, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with the cylinder and piston in a rock-drill, of avalve-chest, a valvecarrier movable toward and from the piston andwithin the valve-chest and having a valveseat, and a valve between thecarrier and the piston acted upon by the piston, there being ports inthe carrierand passages in the valve,

substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the piston and cylinder in a rock-drill, of avalve-chest, a valve-carrier within the chest, there being an openingfor the fluid under pressure to act upon the carrier to move it towardthe piston, a valve seated upon the valve-carrier and moved by thepiston, there being ports in the carrier and passages in the valve forthe admission and exhaust of the fluid under pressure, substantially asset forth.

11. The combination, with the cylinder and valve-chest in a rock-drill,of a piston having a reduced portion and inclines, a valve slidingwithin a valve-chest under the action of the inclines on the piston andprovided with steam-ports, and a valve-carrier within the valve-chestadapted to yield to the valve as the latter is acted upon by the piston,substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with the piston and cylinder in a rock-drill, of avalve-chest having inlet-ports at opposite sides, a valvecarrier havinginlet and exhaust ports, a valve having its seat upon the carrier andacted upon by the piston, there being in the valvechest an opening toadmit fluid under pressure to act upon the valve-carrier and force ittoward the piston, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination, with the piston and rotator in a rock-drill, of aring through which the rotator passes, and an eccentric flange upon therotator occupying an eccentric recess in the ring, substantially as setforth.

14. The combination, with the piston and rotator in a rock-drill, ofannular ratchets connected with the rotator, and a frictionvalve againstwhich the fluid under pressure acts for relieving the friction-valve toallow it to rotate when the piston is moving in one direction and forholding the rotator and cansing the piston to turn when moving in theother direction, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination, with the cylinder and piston in a rock-drill, of arotator, a frictionvalve and annular ratchet between the friction-valveand the rotator, there being a port p rotator when the fluid-pressure isrelieved on 0 the other side of such friction-valve, substantially asset forth.

17. The combination, with the cylinder and the piston in a rock-drill,of the cylinder-head and intermediate cylinder-extension, afriction-valve within such extension having conical surfaces, a rotator,annular ratchets, and a spring between the rotator and the valve, and aplug or cook, by the opening of which the pressure is relieved and thefriction-valve is allowed to rotate, substantially as set forth.

18. The combination, with a cylinder, piston, and piston-rod in arock-drill, of a head to the cylinder having a central opening for thepiston-rod, and double bolts with U -shaped connections passing overprojections on the cylinder-head and running longitudinally of thecylinder for securing the heads to the cylinder, substantially as setforth.

19. The combination,with the valve,valvechest, and cylinder in arock-drill, of a piston having an incline to give to the valve a liftingand longitudinal motion for automatically regulating the force of theblow according to the speed of movement, substantially as set forth.

20. The combination, with the piston and a rotator in a rock-drill, of aring through which the rotator passes, ratchet-teeth upon the ring, afriction-valve, and an annular ratchet connected therewith,substantially as set forth.

21. The combination, with the piston and a rotator in a rock-drill, of aring and annular ratchet and a friction-valve acted upon by the pressureto hold the same in place while rotating the drill, substantially as setforth.

Signed by me this 2d day of March, 1891.

GEO. M. GITHENS.

